Space Exploration

"I believe this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of
landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to Earth. No single space project in this
period will be more impressive to mankind, or more important in the long-range exploration
of space; and none will be so difficult or expensive to accomplish."

John F. Kennedy
Special Joint Session of Congress
May 25, 1961

In honor of the Columbia tragedy on February 1, 2003, we present this display on space exploration.

Some Key Points in the History of Space Exploration

October 4, 1957 - Sputnik 1 (U.S.S.R), First Earth orbit
February 1, 1958 - Explorer 1, First U.S. Earth orbit
October 1, 1958 - NASA is founded, taking over the existing National Advisory Committee on Aeronautics.
April 12, 1961 - Vostok 1 is launched by the U.S.S.R., carrying cosmonaut Yuri A. Gagarin, the first man in space. He orbits the Earth once.
May 5, 1961 - Mercury Freedom 7 carries Alan B. Shepard, Jr., the first U.S. astronaut in space, in a suborbital flight.
February 20, 1962 - Mercury Friendship 7 lifts off with John H. Glenn Jr., the first American in orbit, and orbits the Earth three times.
December 14, 1962 - U.S. Mariner 2, the first successful planetary spacecraft, flies by Venus and enters a solar orbit around it.
June 16, 1963 - Vostok 6 carries Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova, the first woman in space, around the Earth 48 times.
July 31, 1964 - U.S. Ranger 7 relays the first close-range photographs of the moon.
March 18, 1965 - The first space walk is made from the Soviet Voskhod 2 spacecraft by cosmonaut Alexei A. Leonov.
The duration is 12 minutes.
March 24, 1965 - Ranger 9 transmits high-quality images of the moon, many of which were shown live in the first
television spectacular about the moon.
June 3, 1965 - Edward White II makes the first U.S. space walk from Gemini 4. The duration is 22 minutes.
July 14, 1965 - U.S. Mariner 4 returns the first close-range images of Mars.
February 3, 1966 - The Soviet Luna 9 becomes the first spacecraft to soft-land on the moon.
June 2, 1966 - Surveyor 1 is the first U.S. spacecraft to soft-land on the moon.
August 14, 1966 - The U.S. Lunar Orbiter 1 enters the moon's orbit and takes the first picture of the Earth from the moon.
April 23, 1967 - The Soviet Soyuz 1 is launched, carrying Vladimir M. Komarov. It crashed on April 24, killing Komarov
and making him the first spaceflight fatality.
December 21, 1968 - Apollo 8 is launched carrying Frank Borman, James A. Lovell, Jr. and William A. Anders. It is the first Apollo mission to use the Saturn V rocket, and the first manned spacecraft to orbit the moon. It made ten orbits during its six-day mission.
July 20, 1969 - American astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin Jr. make the first manned soft landing on the moon,
and the first moonwalk, during the Apollo 11 mission.
June 6, 1971 - Soyuz 11 carries cosmonauts G.T. Dobrovolsky, V.N. Volkov, and V.I. Patsayev to Salyut 1. This began the first manned occupancy of an orbital station. However, the cosmonauts died during Soyuz 11's reentry on June 29.
November 13, 1971 - The U.S. Mariner 9, launched May 30, 1971, becomes the first spacecraft to orbit another planet, Mars.
Over the next year, it maps 100 percent of the martian surface.
March 2, 1972 - The United States launches Pioneer 10 on an Atlas/Centaur/TE364-4 rocket towards Jupiter. It is designed to familiarize alien life with humans. It returns the first close-up images of Jupiter in 1973.
April 12, 1981 - The first manned mission of the Space Transportation System, or STS-1, Columbia, is launched.
June 19, 1983 - Sally K. Ride becomes the first American woman to travel in space on Challenger mission STS-7.
January 28, 1986 - Space Shuttle Challenger explodes shortly after liftoff of mission STS-51L. The entire crew died, and the
spacecraft was not used again.
February 20, 1986 - The core unit of the Soviet space station Mir is launched.
February 1994 - Russian cosmonaut Sergei Krikalev flies on board the U.S. Space Shuttle Discovery mission STS-60 in
the first joint U.S./Russian space shuttle mission.
February 8, 1996 - Thomas Reiter becomes the first European Space Agency astronaut to make two space walks (both from the Russian Mir Space Station). His previous space walk was on Oct. 21, 1995, and lasted 5 hours and 11 minutes.
July 4, 1997 - The Mars Pathfinder arrives at Mars, photographing the planet. The data collected encourages scientists to believe the planet may once have harbored life. The planet is much more like Earth than previously suspected.
November 20, 1997 - The U.S. Space Shuttle Columbia is launched, carrying the Japanese astronaut Takao Doi. Five days later, Doi performs the first space walk by a Japanese astronaut.
October 24, 1998 - The United States launches Deep Space 1. It is the first mission of the New Millennium Program. It tested new technologies in areas including ion propulsion and artificial intelligence.
October 29, 1998 - American astronaut John Glenn, 77, returns to space aboard Space Shuttle Discovery as part of a study on the effects of space travel on the human body and the aging process. He becomes the oldest person to travel in space. Also aboard is Pedro Duque, the first Spanish astronaut and a member of the European Space Agency.
November 20, 1998 - The Russian space module Zarya is launched. It is the first step in the construction of the International Space Station, the largest cooperative space venture in history.
February 23, 1999 - Sunsat-1, South Africa's first space vehicle, is launched into orbit. It was designed and built almost solely
by graduate students from the University of Stellenbosch.

Publications on Display

U.S. Documents

Ranger IX Photographs of the Moon, 1966, NAS 1.21:112

Ranger VIII Photographs of the Moon, 1966, NAS 1.21:111

Shuttle-MIR, 2001, NAS 1.21:2001-4225

Atlas and Gazetteer of the Near Side of the Moon, 1971, NAS 1.21:241

Voyager Mission Highlights, NAS 1.12/7:400-324(A-H)

Voyager Mission Highlights, NAS 1.12/7:400-152D

Voyager Mission Highlights, NAS 1.12/7:400-152C

Voyager Mission Highlights, NAS 1.12/7:400-152A

Life in the Universe, 1987, NAS 1.18:L62/2

How We Get Pictures From Space, 1987, NAS 1.20:NF151/987

A Look Into the Beginning of the Solar System, NAS 1.12/7:400-259

Get Away Special …the first ten years, 1989, NAS 1.2:Sp3/2

Science in Orbit The Shuttle and Spacelab Experience: 1981-1986, 1988, NAS 1.2:Or1/3

Voyager Mission Highlights, NAS 1.12/7:400-152B

Nasa is, NAS 1.2:N 17

America's Spaceport, 1994, NAS 1.2:Am3/994

Questions and Answers About Aeronautics and Space, 1993, NAS 1.74:007B

Galileo Mission, NAS 1.12/7:400-456(A-H)

NASA Mission: The Universe, NAS 1.83:141

Other Worlds From Earth: The Future of Planetary Astronomy, 1989, NAS 1.2:P69/4

Exploration Systems Autonomy, 2001, NAS 1.12/7:400-1044

Exploration Technology Program, NAS 1.12/7:D-15811

Mission to the Solar System: Exploration and Discovery, 1998, NAS 1.12/7:97-12

Hubble Space Telescope: New and Improved, NAS 1.2:H86/4

Steps to the Moon, 1992, I 19.2:M77/2/992

What's New on the Moon?, NAS 1.19:131

Exploring The Moon and Mars, 1991, Y3.T22/2:2M77

Space Cooperation: Shuttle Contingency Landing Sites, 1985, S 9.10:12382

Space Cooperation: Protocol Between the USA and the Russian
Federation, 1993, S 9.10:12522

Space Cooperation: Agreement Between the USA and Argentina, 1996, S9.10:12214

The First Lunar Landing, 1989, NAS 1.19:73/989

Canadian Documents

The Sun, 1967, Canada M 75-1/1

The Moon, 1967, Canada M 75-1/2

Solar and Lunar Eclipses, 1967, Canada M 75-1/3

The Solar System, 1967, Canada M 75-1/4

Is It a Planet or a Star?, 1967, Canada M 75-1/5

Mars, 1967, Canada M 75-1/6

Jupiter, 1967, Canada M 75-1/7

Canada's Future In Astronomy, 1970, Canada M 74-2570

Eye In The Sky, 1983, Canada M 77-5/1983E

The Canada Center For Remote Sensing, 1985, Canada M 77-13/1985E

Surveillance From Space: A Strategic Opportunity For Canada, Canada CC 293-5/44E

International Documents

United Nations Treaties and Principals on Outer Space, 1994, JX5810.U55 1994

Unispace III, 1999, QB500.26.I58 U65 1999

Expanding the User Community of Space Technology Applications in Developing
Countries, 1998, HD9711.75.A2 W67 1998

Space Benefits For Humanity In The Twenty-First Century, 1999,
HD9711.75.A2 U54 1999

The Age of Space Commercialization, 1999, HD9711.75.A2 S45 1999

Outer Space, 1991, TL 788.4.O93 1991

United Nations/European Space Agency Symposium On Economic Benefits of Using
Space Technology Applications in Developing Countries, 1998, TL865.U57 1998

Proceedings of the Technical Forum, QB 495.U5 2000

"That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind."

Neil A. Armstrong, July 20, 1969

Display by Breezy Silver
Government Documents Library
Michigan State University Libraries